Silver Linings and Second Wednesdays
by Lady of the Phoenix
Summary: A series of drabbles, short and long, in game and AU, about the one, the only, the overly confident and irritatingly positive Zack.
1. Moon

Author's Notes: Whoot. This is one of my many fictions now, because I've taken the FF100 for Zack! We love Zack. You'll find him under many last names here and with many hobbies and varied personalities. I try to cover all of the Zack bases.

Theme: Moon

* * *

Opposites

Ever since the second he'd laid eyes upon the man, Zack had known that Sephiroth had an opposite. Man like that, he knew, had many types of opposites. There were opposites in outlook: Zack himself was one of those, a cheerful optimist to Sephiroth's dreary pessimist. There were opposites in confidence: take Reeve for example, the executive was quiet and afraid of acting or speaking out of turn, whereas the General could and would just say what he wanted and then do it as well. There were opposites in social life: Sephiroth always worked hard and avoided contact that would be considered anything resembling social, but Reno, a Turk, ignored work when he could and cared only for flirting. There were even opposites in how they treated people: General Sephiroth was cold and aloof and ignored everyone, but there were those in the lower levels that were sweet and warm. Yet this wasn't the opposite to Sephiroth that Zack had always sensed.

"One day I'll find that one Seph, mark my word," Zack mumbled to the reports on his desk. While being second-in-command had perks, the downside was always the paperwork.

"You always say that," the General replied, causing Zack to look up. Sometimes the SOLDIER forgot just how sensitive the hearing of the silver haired man was. "I bet you don't even know what you are looking for."

Always eager for the distraction from his paperwork, Zack leapt to the challenge. "I think I do Seph, and I'm going to find them."

"I don't know why you have this juvenile fixation," Sephiroth said with a sigh.

"Juvenile is placing shaving cream into someone's toothpaste tube Seph. This is like soul searching."

"I don't like it when it involves me… And aren't you supposed to be checking out the new recruits right about now?"

The dark haired male blinked. "Shit, it's noon already?"

"Of course it is. I bought you that desk clock for a reason you know."

"This thing?" Zack asked, jabbing a pile of broken plastic and electronics upon his desk with a smirk.

Sephiroth glared from the pile to Zack. "Go," he growled through clenched teeth, much to Zack's distress. Sephiroth followed through on threats. In second the SOLDIER had fled for the gym where the new candidates were in preliminaries. There was always a senior level, that is to say First Class, SOLDIER at these events to evaluate which of the newbies should be fast tracked into the higher training levels. Today it was Zack's turn to watch, and he only relished it for the opportunity to escape Sephiroth.

Even with the time taken up going down the elevator to the main gym from the high floor his office was on, Zack was there in minutes. Anything more and he'd be reported back to Sephiroth and be 'paid back' but the general. Zack himself couldn't find the silver-lining that would exist if he got Sephiroth mad. Best case scenario he'd be forced to duel with Sephy, and he was still recovering from the LAST time he'd tried that and received a broken leg for his efforts.

"ATTEN-TION!" souted the drill sergeant, a tall brute of a man hired expressly to handle the painful prelims. The male had obviously caught sight of the handsome SOLDIER and reacted accordingly.

All of the recruits, who had been in the process of laps, came to a halt quickly. This caused some of them to fall face first onto the floor though, and Zack did his best not to laugh.

"Um…" the second said with a sigh. He hated this stuff because he was expected to be all proper and shit. "As you were."

Many of the potentials resumed running, while some helped fallen comrades from the floor and a few stared in awe at the belt Zack wore, the belt of a First Class.

Putting his best 'holier-than-thou' look upon his face, Zack moved towards the awaiting drill sergeant. Yet try as he might, the whole serious and aloof thing worked better for Sephiroth than for the overly positive swordsman.

"What we got?" Zack questioned the man, turning away from the runners so he could relax and let his cheery grin slip back in place.

"No better or worse than expected. You'll probably get your pound of flesh for the advanced training."

"Woah man," Zack chuckled. "Just remember, I was one of those pounds of flesh."

The sergeant, a man that had held the same job since before Zack had been in the position of the recruits, rolled his eyes. "You'll be taking your normal position, correct?"

A wink was the initial response. "Can't have them think Soldier is all fun and games because I smile."

Once more the sergeant rolled his eyes and then watched the higher ranking male head to the top seats of the stands where he could remain anonymous. And honestly, it was almost amazing that the recruits didn't put Zack to sleep. Things that demanded Zack to sit still and pay attention caused him to get sleepy. Yet there was something here that kept him awake. Something about this one small, lack-luster cadet drew his eyes.

It could have been the shock of blonde hair. It could have been the small size compared to the others. It could have even been that he seemed so ill suited to this work. Still, somewhere there was something…

Zack caught the eyes of the youth as the blonde glanced nervously over his shoulder. The eyes. There was something in those eyes. That was what drew him. Something in those eyes made him the once. This boy was the one who was Sephiroth's opposite. This was the one Zack looked for. And even though he'd finally found the male, he wasn't sure how this blond was Sephiroth's opposite.

Zack squinted at the face presented to him and committed it to memory in the few seconds he had. Sure enough in that image he found the differences. The boy had hair as yellow as the sun and as uncontrollable as it as well, but Sephiroth's was silver like the moon and hard to believe that it was tangible. The eyes of this kid were bright, all of the innocence and purity of the world held there. Yet Seph's held the bitter truth, and maybe somewhere a hint of guilt for the deaths he had caused. Yes, these two were as opposite as day and night, as the gods who ruled them, as the celestial divinities that crowned them.

Before he knew it, the session had passed and Zack and the sergeant were left alone at last. The latter was already scaling the stairs of the stands to converse with Zack.

"What did you think sir?"

"Who was that small blonde?"

The male was shocked by the casualness of Zack's question, but more so by the question itself.

"Cloud Strife, sir… but you can't seriously…"

"He reminds me of someone, but then again, he doesn't."

"Who sir?"

Zack smiled and leaned back in his seat. "What, the opposite of himself of course, and he is just like the sun…"


	2. Dinner

Author's Note: Thirty Minute Challenge for Case. Lots of fun. Chocobo Bob's isn't my idea, so steal if you want. Just don't mention 'Deader than a Chocobo at Chocobo Bob's BBQ Wing at lunch rush' without asking me. THAT phrase is mine. Which I got from Cait Sith, who got it from Reeve, who got it from Zack, who made it up the day of this fic at lunch time. Too bad it is dinner or you would have heard that. The gray stuff is the idea of Atreylune and appears in his sad fic Epitaph. In fact, Zack's comments about the Turks in this are references to a few scenes in that story. GO READ IT. Man, that story like OWNS my SOUL. Oh, and the three monsters named (Blugu, Bloatfloat and Beachplug) are ACTUALLY in-game. No lie.

Theme: Dinner

* * *

Glop 

'Gloup!' was the sound made when the gray blob that was supposed to be a meal made contact with the tray. Not even trying to mask his distaste Zack poked the thing, his metal spork not even putting a dent in the ration-mold that was supposed to be dinner. Soon the spork was buried under another glop of the disgusting thing. If looks could kill, the stuff would die right there on the SOLDIER's tray, because damn it didn't look dead yet.

With the same sigh he gave everyday followed by that ever so fake smile he put on to make others feel better, the First Class practically glided over to his normal table, exuding false cheerfulness and that assurance one found by looking at him that everything would be okay. It was a really good act, something others had fallen for many times over, but not him. No, he had learned to see past the masks that Zack always threw up as, well he never knew just why Zack used those masks of his, and probably never would. What he did know was that Zack was far better at using them than Sephiroth was himself, but that was a matter for another time.

"Look at this stuff they give us Seph," the dark haired youth said, his false cheerfulness oozing off of him in waves much like those which came from the gray glop they were being served. "It's the same thing every single day. Damn, if there was anything that could make me regret making First, it would be this shit."

The silver haired General merely shrugged. Ever since his childhood Hojo had been feeding him this highly nutritious, specially designed regiment of food. The stuff was supposed to fill all of their dietary needs as well as work well with the mako they were infused with and it helped to build muscle mass. Too bad it tasted like, as Zack had once put it, 'Chocobo beak dipped in Beachplug sauce'. And damn if it didn't look like it had its own IQ.

"Would you really rather have mystery meat for two meals a day?" Sephiroth asked, spooning at his own glop.

"Well yeah man. At least with mystery meat you're not completely sure what you're getting or what it will taste like," the younger male said with a grin, this one real and almost contagious. Almost…

"Just remember, you're the one that wanted to be a First Class," Sephiroth said, waving his spork at the dark haired youth. Were he not used to the meal he would have been surprised how the gray substance seemed to cling to the utensil like it was afraid it would go flying off. Too bad they didn't have the luck of it doing just that.

"I hear that Professor Creepy finally convinced the President to give this stuff to the Turks too," Zack said, before swallowing a mouthful with a disgusted look on his face. Whether the disgust was towards the taste or Hojo, Sephiroth could not tell. Then the grin was back. "Could you imagine Tseng eating this stuff?"

"He could always claim it is against his religion," the General suggested, taking his first mouthful as well and stomaching it far easier than the recently promoted warrior that he'd known for several years now, ever since he'd just been a promising recruit grinning at the first assembly. It was that smile that Sephiroth now knew as fake that had drawn the elite's attention to Zack.

"I don't think that the President will care."

The dark haired boy nodded in agreement, "One day they will get a recruit gutsy enough to eat the real food anyway, maybe even sneak into the cafeteria to steal some food."

This actually made the elite smile. If Turks ever got that independent, that sneaky, that gutsy, well that would be the day indeed. Of course he knew why Zack said it. The first time the soldier had tried the stuff he'd demanded that the General accompany him on a raid of the executive cafeteria for not warning him about the horridness of the meal. Sephiroth hadn't seen the point in warning him, as he'd never known any other taste in his life.

"Lookie here, I actually got General Pain-In-The-Ass to smile. Damn, that has gotta be worth some points somewhere," Zack cheered, raising his hands as if asking some god to come down to confer said points.

"I doubt it. Now eat your dinner."

"You call this dinner?" Zack said. "This is what dinner EATS. No, this is what the stuff that is eaten by the stuff dinner eats. Hell, I doubt you could get starving kids in the slums to touch this stuff. You couldn't find a Blugu that would eat this shit."

Sephiroth sighed. There Zack went again, showing off his superior memorization of the monsters of the planet. So what if the man knew the difference between the Blugu of Sector Four and the Bloatfloat of Mt. Corel? Didn't help you kill them any faster if you had the masamune like Sephiroth did. They all died the same way then.

"You'll get used to it."

"You say that EVERY meal," Zack pointed out, pointing sharply at the General with a sporkful of glop. Then he gestured widely around them, "And while most of these poor saps would believe you because you're the mighty General and all, I sure as hell don't."

With a sigh the silver haired male placed a leather clad hand against his forehead. Yes, there was the familiar headache that Zack tried desperately to force upon him every evening. It was always the same. Zack would poke at the meal, make some silly comments, blame him, and then Sephiroth would get annoyed. And while most people gave up when Sephiroth got annoyed, Zack kept going…

"I sure has hell haven't gotten used to it yet Seph, and I sure as hell doubt I will. Anything Doctor Freako makes has got to be bad," Zack said, before quickly amending, "Except for you of course."

One could almost hear the point where Sephiroth's patience crumbled, if they paid enough attention. There was a bit of crumbling first, and then a quiet rumble like that of a distant avalanche rushing forth to greet you. It always ended with a sound like a cannon and then absolute silence, inside of Sephiroth, from Zack, and in the entire SOLDIER cafeteria as the General stood, pushed his unfinished meal aside and walked away.

This time, like every other, the dark and dangerous male stalked to the doors without a sound, his hand clenching and unclenching as if it itched to hold the hilt of his sword or as if he just wanted to strangle Zack at last and have it all done with. The only sound as he turned to look at Zack was that of leather soles on barely cleaned tile floor. And then, the utter stillness is renewed as…

"Zachary Donovan, if you would come here…" Sephiroth said, his voice taking a sharp undertone that implied punishment.

Whispers started as the dark haired swordsman pushed his meal away and stood. There was the usual stall as Zack pretended to dust himself off, showing total indifference for the most powerful man in Shin-Ra, before walking towards the General. Unlike Sephiroth he made no question as to his movement, his boots echoing. Now the scattered whispers were like a heady buzz throughout the room as Zack stood before Sephiroth, lopsided grin on his face and a rather lazy salute given.

"Sir?"

Sephiroth sighed and gestured for Zack to leave with him, which the man did. When they were alone in the hall Zack smirked deviously. "Zachary huh? Why can't you ever just use 'Zack'?"

The General paused to glare at Zack with mako green eyes, "If I were you, I'd shut up."

Silence for the next few steps and then, "How about Chocobo Bob's tonight? It's ten cent wing Wednesday you know…"

If anyone other than Zack ever heard the General chuckle, this would have been the statement to cause it.


	3. Orange

Author's Notes: A kiriban gift if you'd believe it. To my biggest fangirl on y!gallery, leafzelindor. She wanted silly string. I give her orange silly string! It's not exactly the longest story, but keeping Zack in one place for any major amount of time is hard without booze.

Theme: Orange

* * *

Silly String

"Zack… I'm not sure this is a good…"

"Shhh!" came the hissing response. This was a cunningly planned siege after all, and a lack of silence could easily alert the target to their presence. And that, of course, would ruin the whole operation. He couldn't have the entire op blown just because his back up was a TAD bit worried about the consequences.

"Weapons at the ready," Zack whispered. "Wait for it…"

He could almost hear the youth next to him shivering in fear. Not that he could blame the little blonde. After all he was only a cadet, and this was a very dangerous mission. They were here to take the most dangerous man in all of the world down a few pegs. All they had to do now was wait for the perfect moment. If the target kept to his schedule then he should be arriving in 10… 9… 8… 7…

Now he could hear the boots on the floor. Their target was very close. Even a first class like Zack had trouble hearing this prey from time to time. If he was this sure that he could hear the silent steps, then they were perfectly on time. This would work. His fingers counted down so that his accomplice could see just what was happening.

6… 5… 4…

Hands raised, weapons at the ready, his fingers itching to press on the trigger, but knowing he had those last few seconds to wait the man restrained himself. This was damn important and he'd risk everything to make sure it went right…

3… 2… 1…

"NOW!"

With the shout Zack threw himself around the corner, pressing down on the buttons and laughing the whole time. The small blonde with him joined the assault, but with far less gusto than the dark haired SOLDIER. Soon enough Zack was satisfied and lowered his cans of orange silly string. He had to admit, it did go rather well with the black and silver, but the anger in those eyes.

"Time to retreat Cloud!" Zack laughed, dropping the cans and turning away from Sephiroth, making for the elevator. "Quick!"

Cloud stared for a moment at the cans in his hand before dropping them and stuttering an apology to the General. Sephiroth said nothing, merely watched the Gongaga born youth run full speed to the elevator, unable to stop laughing. When the silver haired man did nothing to chase his subordinate, Cloud could do little but stare at the green eyed swordsman.

"Aren't you going after him?" Cloud asked. He watched as Sephiroth wiped the orange silly string from his clothes and hair.

"Let me guess, it's the second Wednesday of the month," Sephiroth responded with a sigh.

All Cloud could do was nod an affirmative and wonder just why that mattered.

"Go back to whatever he stole you from cadet," Sephiroth said, waving Cloud off and still staring after the elevator. He'd make sure he got his revenge on Zack. But not today. The teen was untouchable on the second Wednesdays of the month. Everything always seemed to backfire on everyone but Zack those days.

"Yes sir. Um… What would you like me to do with the silly string?" Cloud held out his half full can of orange silly string.

"I'll take that," Sephiroth responded, a smile on his face. What fitting revenge.


	4. Yellow

Author's Notes: I know what you are thinking, an angsty Zack? Not possible? Ah, but I am here to prove you wrong peoples. Zack can be serious and sad just like everyone else. In fact, Zack does it better than most people.

Theme: Yellow

* * *

Watching

All he could ever do was watch. Watch and wait and hope for the best. Sometimes that drove him crazy, it really did. He knew he should have been there to help the kid out, but the choice had been taken out of his hands. He'd been forced to watch his friend, his love, break down into a million little pieces of memory and thought and confusion. Sat back and watched helplessly as a girl he thought Cloud should spend his life with died at the hands of a man many once revered as a hero. A man Zack had once thought of as a friend. There was nothing he could do to ease the pain of the little blonde. Nothing at all as he watched Cloud try his hardest to live Zack's life for him…

Even two years after his death the planet forced him to stand by and watch. While his energy had been used for another life, Zack's mind, Zack's heart had been left behind. And all he could do again was watch. Watch as Aeris got to touch his love, watch as Aeris got to speak to him, watch as Aeris got to help him. Watch his best friend mourn for a life that wasn't over just yet.

He thought for a while that he would finally get to see Cloud again when the blonde returned to the lifestream. Contrary to what he'd told the swordsman about not being welcome, Zack waited for that day for so long. So very very long. Turned out that once you got past the Geostigma thing the Jenova and Mako in Cloud's body made him rather long lived. But, when the day finally came that Cloud was back with him, it was not what Zack expected. Within moments of his death the lifestream gave Cloud a wondrous gift… it let him be reborn. And so it was, again and again for so very many years.

All he could ever do was watch at that point. Watch and wait and hope for the best. Sometimes it drove him crazy, it really did. He watched Cloud go through so many lives, always somehow dragged into being a hero yet again. Wars and chaos and death and despair, over and over and over. All Zack could do was watch as, with each life, Cloud seemed to grow emptier and emptier. He watched the joy of life, the purpose fade out of those beautiful blue eyes time and time again. And worst of all, Zack watched as, time and time again, he would hold Cloud in his arms the moment he returned to the lifestream only to have him ripped away moments later.

But now, right now that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that he was alive, with the most beautiful blonde in this world and the next pressed up against him. What mattered was the second chance that had taken a thousand years for him to finally see. What mattered was that the hero was allowed to rest, and to do so in the arms of the only person who could ever, truly love him. Right now all that mattered was Cloud, laying in Zack's arms between the covers of their bed in their apartment. Memories of past lives be damned.


	5. Spirit

Author's Notes: I must admit, I've seen and written my fair share of crack pairings in my days. I cornered the market on Reeve/Rude after all. Love that pairing… Well, anyway, I have a nice juicy mix of Zack, Kadaj and unusual use of a materia. I hope that it lives up to expectations.

Theme: Spirit

* * *

Us

No matter where you went, life wasn't easy. Neither was life after death. Even with Aeris around, the Lifestream was incredibly lonely. Everyone in 'heave' was so intent upon the great Cetra savior that he so rarely got time with his former girl-friend. Cloud wasn't around either, happy living life and such. And Sephiroth… Well, not only was the General not kept around the general spirit population, but he just wasn't the man Zack had fallen for. Why else would he have kept such a close eye on the goings on of the living? He'd had a whole lot of confidence in Cloud. The kid was more than capable of handling things, he wouldn't have survived the mako poisoning if he wasn't.

It was loneliness that lead Zack to becoming one of the few, the appreciated, the waking guides. There was only about a hundred of them in the whole of the Lifestream, people who had been powerful or wise or particularly charismatic and caring. They were responsible for the newly arrived, guiding and teaching them about true existence, about the needs of a spiritual body, about how to look out upon the world around him. Normally it was a one-on-one thing, but during the place, during Meteor, temporary guides had been added.

This time, the 'Stigma Crisis' as Aeris was calling it, things weren't easy either. Most of the guides were handling two people, and with little break between. It used to be that they could get a day or two off, but the world was changing and new guides were being trained each day. Yet no guide, new or old, had quite the training Zack did. He was employed for the violent cases. Or those they thought to be particularly dangerous. Like the newly arrived trip of clones. Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj. Sons to Jenova and brothers to Sephiroth. Some even said they were the different facets of the general himself.

First there was Loz, the oldest, the physically strongest. If Zack had to guess he would say that clone was Sephiroth's sensitivity. Physically he would be Sephiroth's strength, and he was Sephiroth's courage but inside he was the fragile inner-child of the warrior. Gladly enough Zack hadn't been given Loz as one to guide. In fact, the task had fallen to Lucretia, the biological mother of the trio, if they were in fact clones.

Then there was Yazoo, the cunning, sadistic, and tactical side of Sephiroth. That was the only one Zack feared. While the other two could be nice if they chose, Yazoo was frozen and aloof. Many already thought that he would be banished to where Sephiroth was, but Seto was determined to tend to the gunner.

Finally there was Zack's charge, the youngest, the strongest, the one most bound to Jenova… Kadaj. The swordsman was nimble, violent, arrogant, and awfully charismatic. Hell, he was quite a bit like Zack in that. But Zack, he was a guide, a damn good one, and wouldn't lose him like he had lost Sephiroth.

So there he was now, sitting in his chair and balancing it carefully on the hind legs as he stared at the silver haired youth. Kadaj, one of the terrorists as you could cal it. The one who had called Aeris mother, the one who had become Sephiroth. Zack was almost excited to meet him, except for the fact that the kid had almost killed Cloud.

"Who are you? Where is mother? Where are my brother?" a voices demanded.

It was so sudden, so loud, Zack lost his balance and the chair fell back. While it wasn't a very dignified position, with his legs up in the air and his head resting where it had struck the floor, the clone didn't seem to be concerned. A hand came up, or maybe out, to rub his head as Zack scurried to his feet. The raven haired man wanted to laugh at how silly he must looked and at the horrified look on Kadaj's face, and wincing at the ghost of pain, he felt. No real pain of course. Just a body's memory of it, and Zack's body had a lot of memories of pain. So the former-SOLDIER opted to laugh.

Now the young remnant had never been laughed at before. In fact the only laughter he'd every really heard was mother's cold chuckle and his own mocking one. So Zack's hearty laughter was quite unnerving. Almost scary by comparison. So the young boy hid himself under the blankets of the all white bed and chose to pretend nothing here was real. Escapist? Yes. Effective? Not really because moments later Zack was hauling the sheets back and tossing a pillow he grabbed from the bed at the youth's face. Kadaj sputtered indignantly and glared up at Zack with catty mako eyes.

"Where is mother? Where are Yazoo and Loz?" Kadaj again demanded, trying to take control of the situation

Zack couldn't help but chuckle. Already he could tell that the boy was like Sephiroth, because only the general could make such demands in a place like this where he was not in control and still sound threatening.

"Sorry kiddo, I'm not here to answer those questions. I can, though, tell you my name. It's Zackary, or Zack. Seph called me porcupine though. Never knew why he did. I'll have to ask him about it one day." Zack rambled in a manner only one living man could match. Well, Zack was better in his own opinion, but Reno never agreed on that sort of thing.

"You're not answering my questions you know…" Kadaj said, nearly snarling like said cat he probably stole his eyes from.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed, what with the not telling you and all, Glad we got that kink worked out. Ready to go now Kadaj?"

"This isn't worked out," Kadaj countered. "How do you know my name? Where do you expect me to go? Why would I go with you?"

Zack sighed and returned to his chair. This guy was going to be quite interesting.

--------

Nearly an hour of pointless questioning passed before Zack finally convinced Kadaj out of the waking room. Even then it had taken a promise to allow him to meet his 'brothers' to get him to move even the slightest. Lucky for Zack he hadn't specified when he would take Kadaj to see them. Loopholes were always important when dealing with Sephiroth and those like him, and Kadaj was very much like him. Enough so that Zack found himself rambling like he used to around Sephiroth. The thing was that this kid only seemed to stir up the loneliness and nostalgia even more.

"Zack?" the younger male asked. The dark haired man looked instantly towards the source of the voice, confused to find Kadaj standing a bit behind him. When had he gotten back there?

"Yeah K?"

Kadaj rolled his eyes at the name Zack had given him within ten minutes of his waking. "Where were you?"

"What do ya mean?"

"You seemed… distant. Like the kids in Edge."

Here Zack sighed. He was supposed to be showing the kid around and was instead lost in his mind. Who was he? Spije? Zack was supposed to be a bit more aware of his surroundings.

"Just thinking of Seph again," he admitted.

"Who is this Seph you keep referring to?"

"Just my nickname for Sephiroth. I like giving out nicknames and such. Cloud is Spike, Tifa is Chesty, Reno is Red, Rude was Shades… Old habits die hard and such."

With that Zack felt the conversation was over and began to walk once more. Of course he turned after a few minutes when he didn't hear the distinctive footfalls of Kadaj following him. He sighed of course and turned, ready to answer another question that could only serve to bring back memories, but found Kadaj staring at him in awe. Wasn't often that people looked at him like that anymore, so Zack gladly revealed in if for a moment before crossing his arms in mock annoyance.

"What now K? Don't like me knowing the big guy?"

"How did you know him? Why did he allow you to call him such a name?"

What Zack didn't det was why Kadaj asked so many questions. He hadn't back amoung the living, and it wasn't like Seph to question…

"Seph and I were in SOLDIER together. Never got as famous as him though. We were…" How could he put it to a kid so young and probably clueless about relationships? "We were close." At least as close as you could be when someone is that cold and betrays you. As close as you can be in their beds and not their heart.

"And that gave you a right to call him something like 'Seph'?"

"It was either that or Sephy-kins. He made a very good choice I'd say…"

To this the silver haired boy nodded in agreement. "Yes, much better."

--------

Most of that first day went very well after that decision of Kadaj's. Once he was trying the boy could be rather agreeable. In fact, he'd even told a joke to Zack. Granted it was a Jenova and world domination one, but the boy showed promise in adjusting to life in the Lifestream. So Zack had no problem with showing the boy just where their rooms were (newly wokens were always given a room connected to the room belonging to their guide) and then leaving him alone so he could talk to Aeris or spy on Cloud for a bit. Thing was that in leaving Kadaj alone Zack was forgetting one of the first rules of his job.

The day was completely gone by the time Zack returned home. By earth standards it was maybe one am, far later than even than the irresponsible Zack would have normally been out. Really he shouldn't have been surprised to find Kadaj curled up in white sheets and buried in Zack's own dark blue blankets. Zack had forgotten about the nightmares that always plagued the new arrivals that first night. Horrible dreams about the life they left behind, and their greatest failures.

"Shit shit shit," Zack hissed the angry mantra as he closed the door and headed for the kitchen area. All of the rooms had them, but seeing as few needed or wanted to eat they were all small. Nonetheless he rushed there and started a cup of coco. Coco always helped in these kinds of situations. Something in it soothed the soul. Meanwhile Zack kept talking softly, hoping the words would stir Kadaj from the waking nightmares but he held little hope for that happening.

How could there be when he'd failed Kadaj this badly? It was basic, the first rule that they had to follow as waking guides: never leave them alone lest you lose them. Not many got lost, which made it all the more painful. Failing one you were supposed to guide was nearly a crime. And Zack wasn't known for letting them down, ever. Best guide, never failing, except with Sephiroth.

"Kadaj, I need you to focus on my voice okay?" Zack asked as he moved back over to him with the mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Pulling those lost in the waking nightmares was easier said than done really. You were supposed to get them to focus on the here and now, and often this was done by having the guide give them a new memory to focus on, one of something they had never done, one that was only happy and cheerful. Sometimes it had to do with tasting something for the first time, or hearing something, or doing something. Anything really to shake them from the bad things from the life they had left behind. Anything at all.

Of course, Zack knew there had to be a lot of things that Kadaj had never experienced. Most foods, most games, all music and forms of entertainment probably. All of the Life he was living now was new. Zack was new, food was new, but the boy was lost so deep. Zack could see it in those mako eyes. They were more than distant, they were glazed over, fear and pain and anger and all those negative emotions filling them to the brim. The boy was suffering, and it was Zack's fault. All Zack's fault.

Worst thing was that the coco wasn't helping, and neither was his attempt to talk to the boy. Kadaj didn't really swallow the sweet and bitter liquid unless Zack closed his mouth, pinched his nose and stroked his neck to force it down like a dog. Plus he obviously couldn't hear all the calm and soothing words that Zack was offering about flying kites and playing tag or snuggling with a puppy. The only way he could really describe the youth's state was catatonic, and that was a bad sign. He'd never seen it before, but he'd heard about it. It was the last step before they lost someone. Really, he had to act now.

Zack acted before he really thought about how he was going to act. While that was normally a very Zack thing to do, right now it wasn't the best thing he could have done. Quite the contrary probably. All he did was treat Kadaj as if he was Sephiroth, not that Seph had often had nightmares. Still, there was one thing that had always brought Sephiroth out of those rare ones that he did have. And it did have the desired effect…

--------

He was lost in his mind, he had been for a while now, if his sense of time was still to be trusted. Nothing else was. His eyes didn't see the room around him, but rather the Forgotten City with all of the glowing trees and the dark water and the children, the children he had hurt before him. Somewhere behind him he could actually HEAR the sound of Marlene's voice, the flexing of Loz's hands in those leather gloves as he restrained her. In fact, he could almost feel the demented smile that graced the face of Yazoo. It was one of the memories he was being forced to relive time and time again.

Kadaj couldn't hear the voice of Zack trying to reach out to him, couldn't taste the drink being poured down his throat. None of that existed, none of the world outside of the memories. Already the boy felt so weak, felt like he was giving in. Really, he didn't want to give in, but it was too much. There were tears stinging at his eyes as he watched his power poison the water again and the children drink of it. Guilt was all there was. Guilt and pain and suffering.

Then it was gone, all of it. Instead there was the sight of Zack, pulling back from him, smiling so softly, worry filling those eyes and mixing with utter relief. He could hear the total silence of the room as it held its breath, waited for his reaction. Hell, he could feel Zack's arm brushing against his thigh because Zack's hands were on either side of his legs, holding him up as he leaned in over the bed and Kadaj. And his lips… So warm and tingling with the feeling of the kiss Zack had laid upon them.

"Zack…" Kadaj whispered, eyes slowly widening in shock as he scooted a few inches back from the edge of the bed where he had been.

"You with me again man?"

Now the youth nodded, though he was still trying to put distance between himself and the other swordsman.

"Wh… why did you kiss me?"

"You were totally out of it, I had to do something. It IS my fault that you were buried that deep anyway. I was supposed to be here. I let you down…"

"Why did you kiss me?" the young man repeated, unable to help the reddening of his cheeks.

"I tried hot chocolate and that didn't work, and I tried talking to you. Hell, I pinched you and got no reaction at all. Figured that if you really were a lot like Sephiroth that a kiss would work as well for you as it did for him."

That too shocked Kadaj enough to keep him from slipping away into the more painful state of mind. A welcome distraction really, except for the implications that came with it. His older brother had been… And with Zack? No wonder mother never spoke highly of Sephiroth's friends. But, Zack did seem nice enough.

"You've… kissed Sephiroth?"

Zack nodded slowly, "Yeah. It's… kinda what I meant by saying we were close… He was important to me, even if I was expendable to him."

"Expendable?"

This wasn't what he had intended. Talking about Sephiroth even after all of this time was a vulnerable spot for him. Even if it was to a guy that acted like Sephiroth and talked like Sephiroth and even looked a little bit like Sephiroth did. Hell, he didn't like talking to Aeris about the whole thing. But, Kadaj needed something to distract him, almost as much as Zack himself did.

"Sephiroth was very cold. Almost everything around him was either something to be used, or something not worthy of his attention. I actually thought for a while I was an exception to that. It was a mistake, I know that. So many other people made it too, thinking they were worthy of him, but none of us were. In the end… In Nibelheim, I was discarded too. Before Jenova and the burning and all of that stuff…"

"You… cared about him?"

"A lot," Zack agreed, nodding slightly and moving to sit on the edge of the bed with his back to Kadaj instead of leaning over it and facing him. "He meant a lot to me. I meant nothing to him."

"Then why did you kill me? Just because I act like him? Because I look like him?"

"Because I didn't want you to lose yourself and your will to exist Kadaj."

"Would you have done the same thing for my brothers?"

Zack was silent for a while. How could he know if he would? It took experience with certain kinds of situations to be aware of what you would do at any given time, and he had never even met Loz or Yazoo. Hell, he'd only just met Kadaj so he couldn't even explain fully why he did that instead of trying other methods of shocking him out of his dreams. All he could say was that the boy had been so warm, his lips so soft, and that somewhere in the back of his mind it occurred to Zack that this boy had probably never been kissed before.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell ya. Never met them and all that."

"Where are they now?"

"Probably in their guide's rooms going through the same things you are. Except with far less kissing. I couldn't see Seto sucking face with anyone, and Lucretia has her heart set on Vincent when he comes here…"

"Loz would have punched you, and Yazoo can scold people just as good as mother, sometimes better…"

Mother, what a horrible word to hear from the mouth of a clone really. Everything was about mother to them. It always took a while to pry them from that fixation on the irritating alien skank. Yet with Kadaj it was far worse for Zack to hear it. The fact was that it only hit home the sudden realization that Kadaj was rather young. Not that such a fact should really bother him, but it did. It did and that knowledge bothered him almost as much as the fact.

"Yeah, well I'm dealing with you, not them. Just the way it goes and all."

"Tell me Zack," he continued, the youth's voice starting to get shaky as the memories started to push in at the corners of his vision, "Why are you in charge of me?"

"Well… there are specially trained guards for dealing with certain people. People that could be dangerous or would take more effort to take care of and such. Like you."

"You people really think that I am a threat to people in the Lifestream? I haven't done anything wrong since I came here right? I wouldn't do anything, what is the point?"

"See, the thing is that when Sephiroth came here he created the Stigma, using his mother's will and such. We're supposed to have prevented that kind of thing from happening. And since you were tied so closely to the Geostigma and to Jenova herself…"

"Who was in charge of Sephiroth then? Who failed in that task?"

There was silence for a while, and Zack couldn't find his voice. He wanted to shout at Kadaj for bringing that up, but really, he had been asking for it hadn't he? Tempted fate just by thinking about it. And it was natural for Kadaj to ask, because he was involved in Zack's failure, hell, he was a repercussion of it.

"You were, weren't you?" Kadaj asked, his voice soft. He wasn't quite sure when it had happened, but he had at some point scooted closer to Zack. Their hands were almost brushing now. Kadaj couldn't say he wouldn't enjoy that either. His mind was still reeling a bit from the kiss.

"I let him down. The one time that I absolutely should have been there, I failed him. I'm surprised that Aeris let me remain a guide after that, but she is so forgiving. I think she assigned me to you to give me a chance to make up for it. Because you're so like him and he did respond to me for a while before he pulled back into that shell of his and started to torment us and the planet. Most people feel she shouldn't trust me with you. They could have asked Gast after all, or Veld. A Turk or a SOLDIER or a scientist… Hell, Aeris could have done it herself…"

When Kadaj's hand finally moved to cover Zack's the former-SOLDIER grew very silent. They both were. It was almost consuming really. Part of Zack wanted to ignore it. Part of Zack wanted to smile. And another part was so totally clueless. That part was having trouble telling up from down at the moment, but here it didn't seem to matter. Once more something happened before Zack would really think about it, but it wasn't him who did it. There was the young man, leaning close, eyes closed and gently pressing his lips against Zack's. A chaste kiss yes, and the boy pulled back seconds later, but it was there, it was real.

"Why did you kiss me?" Zack asked, mimicking Kadaj's earlier shock.

"Because you weren't all here. You were rambling, and it seemed effective in getting you to stop…"

Now Zack wasn't the sort to blush really. In all of his years on the planet he'd never once blushed, there had never been a reason. But here and now he was red, his cheeks hot and an odd shyness came over Zack. Were one of his old SOLDIER buddies around right now they might have laughed at him. The great Zack, self-proclaimed ladies man, blushing like a girl. Something about this situation though made the blush necessary.

"You could have talked, or pinched me or something," Zack pointed out.

"I wanted to do it like that."

"Oh…"

Neither said anything for a moment, trying to absorb the whole of the situation, but it wasn't long before Kadaj's hands came to his temples and he winced. The lack of distraction was not helping him. He had been into the waking nightmares quite a bit, and now they were returning, like it or not. There was an urge in him to cry, to plead with Zack to put him out of his misery. Why did these visions plague him so? Was it always this hard?

"Zack," the youth groaned, leaning against him as the tears finally came.

"Shit man. Not again…" Zack was panicking now. He was about to lose Kadaj again and suddenly he had far more reasons than proving himself to keep the kid around. "Just, just focus on me okay?"

Kadaj nodded, and Zack couldn't help but think that the way the silver hair fell into his face was utterly adorable. Slowly he wrapped his arms around the younger male's waist and held him close, slowly rocking back and forth and humming a song that Aeris loved to hum while tending to flowers. Sadly the attempt was not working, and Kadaj's eyes were clouding once more.

"Please… please stop them Zack. It hurts," he moaned, leaning against Zack and grabbing at his arms as if they were life preservers.

"Do you trust me Kadaj?"

Catty mako eyes met darker blue, and the pain, the tears, they pleaded with Zack. For him to ignore whether Kadaj trusted him, promised to trust him if he only took the pain and the memories away. 'Do anything' those eyes said. 'Save me' they cried. Zack found no choice but to oblige him.

It took Zack a few seconds to unwind the sheet and blankets from around Kadaj, precious seconds that he hated losing, seconds that the visions got a stronger hold on the youth. Once his little dependant was free, Zack laid him out on the bed, resting his head against the pillow before leaning down to kiss Kadaj again. The kiss was the most hesitant so far, because now Zack was thinking about it, thinking about what he would have to do to save Kadaj from himself and his own mind. It wasn't something he was sure he was ready for, but the boy needed him to help and there was no way that he was going to fail the trust he had been given.

After a second Zack's lips attacked the youth's neck instead of his lips, and he listened to Kadaj gasp in shock. Inside Zack knew this had to be done, but again the age factor was coming up. He was what, a decade older than Sephiroth's clone? And was he doing this because the youth was so much like Sephiroth? Or was it because he wasn't like Sephiroth? Because he could ask and trust and reacted like a real person acted, needed like a real person needed, responded like a real person responded.

His lips danced over the soft flesh as his fingers slowly stripped Kadaj down. And with each light moan that he drove from the youth was amazing, intoxicating, and oddly sweet. Like candy for the ears, or a rock band singing your favorite song. Not that Zack had much time to hear music these days. Still, when his lips finally returned to Kadaj's he was in for another shock of his own. The silver haired youth was getting into the distraction very very well, and when Zack kissed him the youth plunged his own tongue into Zack's mouth. Seconds later the distraction was far more than mutual as the pair plundered each other's mouths. Then Kadaj's hands were moving over Zack's clothes, pulling at them.

In the back of Zack's mind one of those annoying parts from earlier was speaking up. It said that Kadaj was only reacting because he was a kid. Even in the Lifestream you suffered from the awkward hormonal phase of puberty. Of course another part argued that Kadaj was more than mature enough to handle this, and the boy needed it to keep him free from the nightmares after all. Besides, Zack wanted this, wanted him, wanted to stop being along and Kadaj was offering that, whether he knew it or not.

--------

It wasn't until the next morning, when Zack was holding the pale youth in his arms, that he really thought of any of it. The boy was so lean, so sweet, so kind. And he was pretty sure that he was falling in love with the youth. This was everything he'd ever wanted from Sephiroth. Everything he'd never been given a chance to have.

"What are you thinking about Zack?" Kadaj asked, nestling closer to his guide, eyes still closed and his voice thick as it would be when you just woke up.

"Us."

"Do you think there is going to be an us?"

"I hope so kid. Break my heart if there wasn't."

"Good," Kadaj whispered against Zack's chest as he fell back to sleep. "It would break mine too."

Zack smiled and pulled the kid closer. Later, when he got up, he was going to tell Aeris that he didn't want to be a guide anymore. He had found something he wanted to devote his life to instead.


	6. Beginnings

Author's Notes: Finally got to the piece. I've been trying to plan Sephiroth's revenge for a while now, and when Tetsuya, my idol, gave Zack such a wimpy name, well, the idea just jumped from my head full born… Okay, yes, I'm on a greek myth kick and that was a reference to Athena. So sue me. I would suggest some look back on theme orange, titled Dead Meat to understand just WHAT Sephiroth is getting revenge for. And look, we get a full explanation of Zack's little system of beliefs.

Warning: While I don't OWN these characters and they are full property of Square-Enix, I DO reserve the idea of the second Wednesday and last Monday of the month for their specific superstitious values. Use of them in fics will result in a VERY moody female on a mission, so PLEASE ask before you use them. That is all I want.

Theme: Beginnings

* * *

Superstition

By all standards, the day was going well. He'd gotten up on time, hadn't missed any meetings, went through his training regiment in record time, and the cafeteria had seemed to be offering something other than the gray glop they called food, if only for a day. In fact, in this world that was the life of a ShinRa SOLDIER, many men would have called it a fabulous day, one of those ones where you were lucky to be alive. Taken at face value, this was one of those days where lady luck was on your side and everyone knew your name…

Zack Donovan wasn't the kind of person that took things at face value. No, he was a man that believed in the uplifting power of a smile, the charm of a well timed wink, and the influence that came with overwhelming optimism. More than that, Zack Donovan was a very superstitious man. Now he didn't believe in that junk about walking under ladders, or stepping on cracks, or even breaking a mirror, but he did have his own little things that put him on edge. For example, it was his personal belief that if you could get a person to laugh within three minutes of meeting them, they would look up to you. If you could get that laugh within two, you'd gotten yourself a friend. And if you had them laughing in under a minute, they would be dependable to the very end.

What he believed in most, though, was not actions, but dates. For example: the twenty-third of the month (so long as it was not the last Monday of the month) was a day that was prosperous and, nine times out of ten, would result in some fine meal. The fifth of the month, like the twenty-third, was lucky in that any contests entered upon this day would undoubtedly be won by him. The seventeenth of the month invariably lead to something bad, but not horrible, like his favorite casual clothes being stained, or someone breaking plans with him. Of all of the days he had little superstitious beliefs for, none were as powerful as the second Wednesday and the last Monday of the month, and for quite different reasons.

The second Wednesday of the month was almost a holy day. All of the greatest things that ever happened to Zack had occurred on the second Wednesday of the month. He'd been born on the second Wednesday, met his first girlfriend, got laid for the first time, made friends with the silver haired general (but it took just under two minutes to make him laugh), and even met this great kid named Cloud. Each of his promotions had come upon the second Wednesdays of the month, and so had his assignment as a squad leader. All the coolest materia and weapons seemed to come into his hands on the second Wednesday, and no matter what kind of trouble he caused, be it by prank or accident, ever came to bite him in the ass on the second Wednesday. In fact, he had come to a point where he damn near felt invincible on that special day.

Where the second Wednesday was almost a holy day for the youth, the last Monday of the month was a day of darkness. Nothing good seemed to happen on this day. While it could start pleasantly, it almost always went sour. No pranks were successful, paperwork would always be demanded, and nine times out of ten Zack ended up paying the bar tab. Yes, they might seem like minor things, but they always happened on that one day in particular. Maybe it was because Zack knew this and almost inflicted it upon himself. Maybe it was because he shared his beliefs with others that the bad things always came on that day. Maybe it was something truly unholy about that day in particular, as he would discover later in life when, upon the last Monday of a certain month, he had found his friend in the basement of a mansion in Nibelheim, utterly psychotic. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was fated to die on the last Monday of the last month of the year…

So, it was because of these beliefs that Zack lived by that he was on edge today. Sure, things had been going his way, but that was the problem. He knew what day it was, he'd checked his calendar twice to make sure there was no mistakes. Today was the last Monday of the month, so things were bound to go wrong somehow. Would they ship him out to Wutai? Maybe the power would go out and he'd be forced to baby sit panicky recruits. What if Reno had been shipped out on a mission for the night and the red head wouldn't be able to go drinking? There were so many things that could go wrong today, each thought worse than the last. What stuck out in his head the most, though, was the thought of the look that he'd seen in Sephiroth's eyes earlier that morning.

To be fair, Zack knew that the General should be after him today. He had, in months previous, shared his rather… interesting point of view about dates with the man. Sephiroth had merely raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow (because seriously, did his eyebrows actually grow like that or did he have image consultants or something?) and given Zack his normal 'you can't be serious' look. On top of that, Zack knew he probably deserved whatever could be plotted against him after that whole silly string affair earlier in the month (speaking of which, he hadn't seen Cloud around much since then. He had gotten away hadn't he?). Chances were that the General was at this very moment finding a way to get back at him when he was at his most vulnerable, on this vilest of all days.

But Zack, he was better than that, right? At least, that was what he'd been telling himself all through the day. Even on a day like this he couldn't be in any way harmed by anything Sephiroth planned. The guy just wasn't creative unless he was fighting. And it wasn't like they were in some big battle, was it? Right?

…

Aw, who was he kidding?

Zack sighed and poked at the pizza upon his plate, one hand against his overly spiky head, and sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fool himself. SOMETHING had to happen. The day was just going far too well for it not to. And the waiting was making a lot worse. He wasn't all that big on suspense.

So focused was he upon finding the trouble before it reached him that Zack didn't notice the chuckling at first. What he didn't notice was that it had been following him around all day now, a sort of irritating buzzing that demanded one's attention but was brushed off time and time again… like knowing tax day was coming up. He was, after all, used to laughter and snickers during lunch. What he forgot though was that he was used to CAUSING that laughter, giving a reason for those snickers. Because of this, the event he had been dreading was upon him before he even realized that he'd been circling it for hours.

What shook him into reality, what forced him to notice what was going on was two snickering second classes arriving at his table and apparently arguing over who got to sit next to him. While nothing really important normally, as people always wanted to sit with him, it was the wording that caused him to sit up a bit straighter.

"Hey! It's my turn to sit next to Zack," the one second class said, barely holding back his chuckles as he attempted to balance his tray and elbow the other SOLDIER away from the spot.

"That's not _fair_, you sat next to him yesterday," the other one responded, shoving right back.

"I got here first, it's only _fair_."

Zack blinked and looked up at the two recruits. He didn't really know either of them well, or even by name, so he had no clue why they would want to sit by him. Still, he was Zack, and Zack was a people person. So he just grinned up at the two and slid into the center spot at the table.

"It's okay. You can both sit by me."

After a moment the two second classes did just that, plopping down on either side of him, while both still grumbling about how un_fair_ it was, making sure to stress the fair part.

No sooner had Zack pushed this from thought than his ears caught another conversation from behind him.

"You know, it's really not _fair_ that you got the last pudding. You didn't even want it until I reached for it!"

"It's not _fair_ of you to accuse me," the third class replied. "You just reminded me of how much I wanted pudding."

"It's still not _fair_."

"You know what they say kid, all's _fair _in love and war… and lunch."

Zack had barely latched on to how odd it was for that word to pop up so much before he caught a snippet of another conversation.

"…_fair_ tonight? Supposed to be tons of fun."

And another.

"You're not playing very _fair_…"

And another.

"You said this would be a _fair_ trade…"

And another.

"…_fair_…"

When it hit him, it was like a ton of bricks. Zack stood up so fast that, were he in a chair, it would have surely toppled. If he knew one thing it was that 'fair' did not show up in the casual conversations of SOLDIERs. They'd been trained that life wasn't fair and that you had to get used to it or die trying. In fact, that little comment about a fair, or reference to such an event, was totally unfounded. The soonest fair was actually a festival and not until next month. This could only mean one thing.

Glowing mako eyes darted around the room, not even noticing how others were staring at him and snickering at the realization that he'd gotten the whole thing. They did not rest until they met a set of tinkling, mako green eyes on the far side of the room.

Sephiroth.

The dark haired SOLDIER untangled himself from the table and walked right up to the General. He ignored the silence that settled, as it always did, when he confronted the smirking silver haired bastard and shoved a gloved finger right into his face.

"What did you do?"

No one spoke, everyone waited to see just how the General would react, like they always did. Zack just wanted to turn on them some day and yell that the man didn't have THAT much of a stick up his ass and didn't bite… often. But this was not the time to be doing that.

"Did you know, Zackary," Sephiroth began, smiling that knowing little smile he sometimes had, "that in my position I'm capable of reviewing the files upon all employees of ShinRa, especially those who are enlisted?"

"You didn't…" Zack almost snarled, the hand that wasn't in Sephiroth's face curling into a tight fist.

"Including," the arrogant swordsman continued, ignoring the threat, "background checks?"

Zack had known Sephiroth could do such a thing. He'd even used that to find out stuff about other people after bribing the General. But he'd never suspected Sephiroth would actually do something this low, this despicable.

"You didn't," was all he could manage, and he must have looked a fool to repeat himself.

"All things considered, I cannot blame you for it, Zackary. I mean, Donovan is a nice name, and people have had far worse reasons to fake their name upon official ShinRa documents. But, was it _Fair_ of you to assume that I wouldn't know?"

"You bastard," Zack said, more than ready to punch the silver haired man.

"As they say, Zackary, all is _Fair_ in love and war. Even giving up a man's real name to legions of creative young men who are always more than willing to taunt someone."

With this the silver haired man pushed off of the wall and past his subordinate. He didn't even flinch as he heard Zack's fist come into contact with a metal wall that would probably need a dent fixed come morning.

"I expect you in my office in twenty minutes, Mister Fair. You've got paperwork to finish."

Under his breath Zack swore and punched the wall again. Only Sephiroth, only that soulless, heartless bastard would dare out his name like that. And now everyone knew. Gods the puns that would be flying around by the end of the day. Damnit, and as if he hadn't had enough growing up.

"This isn't over," he mumbled to himself, delivering one last punch to the wall before making for the nearest exit. "This isn't _over_."

There were, in truth, things worse than having a last name like his own. Not many, of course, but there were things worse. And Zack intended to find them and inflict them upon the silver haired demon. Just because his last name was Fair didn't mean he had to behave in such a manor.


End file.
